Fans of AMC's The Walking Dead learned of the passing of actor Scott Wilson (Hershel Greene) on Saturday night, less than an hour after it was announced at the show's New York Comic Con (NYCC) panel that the actor would be returning for Andrew Lincoln's (Rick Grimes) final season – and possibly as a voice of reason for Lauren Cohan's Maggie Greene. Now, Cohan is sharing a photo memory of herself with her on-screen father to Instagram – a simple yet heartbreaking reminder of how close the actors were.

Wilson's Hershel was seen by many fans as the heart and soul of the series, and was one of Rick's most closest friends and confidants over the seasons before being killed at the hands of The Governor (David Morrissey) and his sword. His name lives on in the ninth season, as we learn that Maggie and Glenn's (Steven Yeun) son has been named after him.

New showrunner Angela Kang announced Saturday night that Wilson would be joining Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha) and Jon Bernthal (Shane) as guest stars this season, with the late actor having completed filming.

Last season brought the culmination of "All Out War," which pitted Rick Grimes and his group of survivors against the Saviors and their cunning leader, Negan. With Negan's life in his hands, Rick had a character-defining choice in front of him. By making the unilateral decision to spare Negan, Rick upheld the values his late son, Carl, championed in order to build for the future, but created conflict within his group.

Now, we see our survivors a year and a half after the end of the war, rebuilding civilization under Rick's steadfast leadership. It is a time of relative peace among the communities as they work together, looking to the past to forge the future, but the world they knew is rapidly changing as man-made structures continue to degrade, and nature takes over, changing the landscape and creating new challenges for our survivors.

As time passes, the communities confront unexpected obstacles, danger, and of course, walkers, but nothing quite prepares them for the formidable force they are about to encounter, which threatens the very idea of civilization that our survivors have worked so hard to build.

Based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics, "The Walking Dead" reigns the number one drama on television among adults 18-49 for the last six seasons. The series is executive produced by chief content officer Scott M. Gimple, showrunner Angela Kang, Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert, Greg Nicotero, Tom Luse, and Denise Huth.